


Dream House

by sleepyowlet



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Illustrated, Lovecraftian, Romance, Tentacle Sex, forced pregnancy (temporary), genre typical consent issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 09:18:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12296130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepyowlet/pseuds/sleepyowlet
Summary: Rey finds a job in a nice neighbourhood and moves into a lovely house. But are things what they seem to be?





	Dream House

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for kyloshipsreylo's Halloween challenge. I love playing in Lovecraft's sandbox, and the Dream Cycle and Star Wars mesh so amazingly well...  
> There's a Neverending Story reference in here. Can you spot it?
> 
> Much thanks and huggles to thewayofthetrashcompactor for degnoming!
> 
>  
> 
> Want a glimpse of Eldritch Abomination Kylo?
> 
>  [Here you go!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12258858)

 

 

 

 

Dream House - A Lovecraftian Reylo Pastiche

by owlet

 

 

 

“I don’t like this Hux character,” Finn mumbled when Poe’s beaten up car entered the _Dreamlands_ residential area.

Poe rolled his eyes. “I know. You said so about a million times. For the record, I don’t like him either, the constipated ginger weasel. And neither does Rey. Rey?”

Finn turned in his seat and poked his friend in the back of the car who was too busy staring out of the window at perfectly trimmed hedges and lawns mowed in beautiful precision. “Huh?”

“You don’t like Hux either, do you?” Poe repeated his question as he parked the car in front of number 70 Ulthar Drive. He’d been stationed in many countries around the world during his time in the Air Force, but he’d never heard of a place called “Ulthar”.

Rey finally unglued her eyes from her surroundings and replied. “No, I don’t like him. But that happens, you know. Besides, he’s just my landlord and employer, and if you ask me, he’s a huge step up from Plutt.”

Finn worried his lower lip with his teeth. “I’m just saying...he’s with First Order Industries, you know I used to work for them and was lucky to get out. It’s one of those corporations that swallow you whole and spit you back out once you’re used up. There’s been everything from mysterious accidents to suicides, Rey. I just want you to be safe.”

Rey heaved a big sigh. “I know Finn. But I don’t exactly have a choice, do I? I know that _Dreamlands_ is just a PR project to make nice with the public. But it’s technically its own company and I’m not going to work for the First Order directly. And I’m just going to be a landscaper; it’s not as if I’m going to be involved in any shady stuff. Besides tree canopies.”

They got out of the car and were greeted by a tall, slender man in a nondescript suit with his red hair rigorously slicked back. Finn was right, Poe thought, there was something fishy about the guy, even though he seemed friendly enough and praised Rey for being so sensible and bringing witnesses to the handover of the house.

They checked the house and grounds top to bottom, and even Finn wasn’t able to find anything wrong with it. For all intents and purposes, this was a perfect house. Not huge, but well-designed with lots of storage, a sensible layout, and beautiful little details like lovely Art-Nouveau brass lamps with colourful glass shades.

Rey signed all the paperwork, which Hux gathered up. “I’ll give you a couple of days to settle in; just come to my office in the community center by Tuesday morning, and I’ll have someone show you around the park.” He reached out with his long, slender hand to shake Rey’s with a tiny smile on his face. “I hope your first night’s sleep will be a pleasant one. In Germany it’s said that the things you dream when sleeping in a new bed come true.”

Finn closed the door behind him. “What an odd thing to say,” he mumbled.

“Yeah,” Poe replied wrapping his arms around Finn’s midsection from behind, hooking his head over his partner’s shoulder to stare out of the little window in the door after the retreating ginger weasel. “Okay, let’s get Rey’s stuff from the car and help her set everything up.”

He did feel a bit guilty about letting Rey live out here on her own. She’d shared a dingy little flat with Finn when he’d met the two of them, and when he and Finn had gotten together, the decision to move his lover in with him in his (much nicer) home had been an easy one, but it felt like abandoning Rey in the little flat that she had no way of affording on her own, so Finn stayed.

But both of them knew that their friend had felt as if she was holding them back, even though they didn’t think so. And in the end Rey had jumped on Hux’ offer to get away from her former employer who had been exploiting her since she was a teen and to give him and Finn the chance to start a life together.

There was only a miserably small number of boxes that contained all Rey owned in this world, so the task of bringing everything inside and unpacking was done in less than three hours. Poe decided that they deserved pizza, and so they spent the rest of the afternoon together until it was time for Finn and Poe to head home.

Poe waited near the door with a gentle smile on his face as Finn gave Rey a tight hug. “If anything happens, anything at all, you’ll call us right?”

Rey promised to do so, and after hugging her goodbye, Poe left hand in hand with his love.

***

Rey had never been alone in a house before. She’d spent her childhood in the streets or in dingy little apartments, and at Poe’s her friends were with her. The quiet of the neighbourhood was also a bit unsettling; there had always been traffic noise or drunken shouting where she used to live.

Her house ( _Her_ house! Her _house!_ ) was a rather lavish faux Victorian affair with decorated wooden gables, colourful shingles in fancy patterns, and an octagonal corner tower with a Witch’s Hat turret. At least that’s what Hux had called it.

The whole neighbourhood consisted of houses very much like hers, lovingly designed but not too big. Fences and streetlamps were in the same style, and the overall impression was quaint and idyllic.

Rey still couldn’t quite believe that she got to live in a place like this.

She cleaned up the empty pizza boxes and was putting the used dishes in the dishwasher when she heard something scratch at her door. Curious as to what kind of wildlife _Dreamlands_ featured, she went to investigate.

It was a cat. A large, ginger one with an expensive looking collar that sported a name-tag reading “Millicent” on one side, and “I’m not lost, I like to roam” on the other.

Millicent gave a trill in greeting and strode into the house as if she owned it. Secretly Rey was glad not to be completely alone and went about her evening routine with the cat watching her from the couch. Finally dressed in her jammies, Rey snuggled herself into a fuzzy blanket and joined the cat to watch some TV.

She quickly fell asleep to the soothing rhythm of purring cat.

When Rey opened her eyes it was utterly dark. The TV was silent (strange, she couldn’t remember having turned it off) and the only thing she could hear was insistent meowing. Fuzzy from sleep, Rey got up, still wrapped in her blanket, and followed the sound; it seemed like her guest wanted to head home.

But Millicent wasn’t waiting for her by the front door - the cat was insistently scratching at the one to the basement.

“Did you hear something down there?” Rey asked the cat, “Mice?”

Millicent just gave her the patented cat-expression of “are you an idiot” and meowed again.

Rey sighed. “All right, all right. Let me get the torch.” That would help her find the light switch and double as an emergency weapon.

Torch in hand, Rey opened the door and hunted for the light switch. Not finding one, she shrugged and followed the cat down the stairs.

Strange.

She didn’t remember the stairs being so long? Turning around she could still see the dim rectangle that was the doorway far above. Rey stood there, wondering if it was better to turn back, when Millicent meowed again.

“Alright, alright. I’m coming!” Rey called down and kept following the cat.

The room she ended up in definitely wasn’t her basement. The ceiling was very high, and the shape was irregular, as if Gothic architecture had gotten drunk off its arse and had decided to shag Cubism. Similarly strange were the two towering statues flanking the only exit.

What was this place?

Millicent waited until Rey had reached the end of the stairs, then turned and vanished through the arched doorway. Rey followed, quickly forgetting about the statues. “Oh golly, more stairs.”

Rey had no idea how deep she had climbed when she finally ended up in...a forest? There was a starlit sky above her, and a breeze carried the cool moist smells of the trees. Millicent gave a pleased “mrrrp” and vanished into the shadows, tail up high.

“Great,” Rey muttered and followed the cat into the forest. There was an overgrown path that Millicent seemed to follow, so Rey did the same.

“Dreamer!”

Rey jumped backwards and screamed a little at the sudden screech.

“Dreamer!” the voice shrilled again. “Follow!”

Rey finally pointed her torch at the source of the noise, and couldn’t help but laugh a little. The creature in front of her resembled nothing so much as a colourful raccoon with pink tendrils at his snout. It was dressed in simple leathers and carried a multitude of pouches on its person.

“Follow!”

“What did you call me? And follow you where?” Rey asked, her mind still trying to catch up to the fact that she was standing in a forest, dressed in her jammies and a blanket, pointing her torch at a talking raccoon. Thing.

The furry being bared its teeth. “Dreamer. _Follow_ ,” it repeated in exasperation, squinting in the bright light of Rey’s torch.

Rey bit her lip. It _seemed_ harmless enough? And perhaps there were answers waiting where the creature would lead her, answers to the ever growing number of questions crowding in Rey’s mind.

“Alright. I’ll follow,” Rey said and the being nodded, turning to follow the path further into the dark.

They walked on winding paths until they finally left the woods behind at dawn. In the rosy morning light, Rey’s eyes travelled across a vast plain where a city could be seen in the distance.

“Is that where we’re going?” she asked, pointing.

“Ulthar. Yes. Now rest,” her companion replied and plopped down in the soft grass. From one of his many bags and pouches he produced some nuts and dried fruit, which he handed to Rey. “Food.”

Rey had to admit that after what seemed like a whole night of hiking through the woods, she was ravenous and make short work of what she’d been given.

The journey to the city of Ulthar took the rest of the day; and Rey and her strange companion entered the bustling streets as it was approaching twilight. Rey felt like she’d stumbled into a ren fair. Because...the inhabitants of this strange city were all dressed sort of medieval-ish, and many were decidedly non-human. And there were cats. Cats in all shapes and sizes, going about their daily, catty business. Some hissed at Rey’s companion, and he hissed back, but otherwise they went through the city unbothered.

The raccoon-creature finally stopped in front of a rather nondescript door and knocked in a complicated pattern. “Home of Great Dreamer,” he said as the knock was answered with another sequence from within. After a bit of back and forth, the door was finally opened, and they entered the building beyond.

The somewhat shabby and rundown exterior turned out to be a sham, a mask to distract curious eyes, because the inside was quite lavish. There seemed to be a party in full swing, with all manner of beings eating, drinking, and dancing.

Rey stood in a daze for a moment until her companion tugged at her blanket. “Follow.”

They entered a spacious alcove situated apart from the hubbub, where someone seemed to await them already. Sitting in a pile of cushions, smoking a hookah was a diminutive, wizened person with huge eyes behind what seemed very complicated glasses.

“Dreamer,” the furry creature addressed them. “Reward.”

The one in the cushions squinted at Rey. “Yes indeed, you brought me a dreamer. Here, you earned it well.”

Some glittering things changed hands, and the furry being who had brought Rey here disappeared into the throng of revellers.

“Come, child. Sit. I’m sure you have questions.”

Rey did as she’d been asked. “Yes, a few. Where am I? Who and what was that? And who are you?”

The wizened being (probably female?) took a drag from the hookah. “I’m Maz. I was once like you, a Dreamer from the waking world. But I have lived here for a thousand years.”

“What is a Dreamer?” Rey asked.

“A mortal who finds their way here in their sleep. You came by the seventy and seven hundred steps, didn’t you?”

“I did. I...I followed a cat.” Rey replied. A person approached and set food and drink in front of them. Rey was a bit worried about Millicent; she’d seen neither hide nor hair of her since she’d met the raccoon-being.

Maz gestured toward the spread. “Please help yourself, you must be hungry. The Dreamlands are in many ways a mirror of the waking world. But it is also different. Time passes faster, and while your body is asleep for one night, you can spend weeks, or even months here.”

“So...I’m just dreaming? I’m not actually here?” Rey asked, filling a plate with assorted things that looked most appetizing. She didn’t recognise a single one.

Maz leaned back into her cushions. “That depends on how you think. Your body certainly isn’t here, but your spirit is. If you die here, you will suffer a nasty shock, but it probably won’t kill you. Probably. And you will never be able to return here.”

“So this is actually dangerous?” Rey asked, drawing her blanket closer around herself.

Maz laughed. “What in life isn’t? But you aren’t helpless, child. What makes Dreamers so special is that they can change things. The Land of Dream doesn’t change by itself, it’s fairly static. But Dreamers can alter it, some of the great ones have called entire cities into being. Some came here after their physical death and live on as gods.”

“Okay.” Rey said between bites. “But...why am I here?”

Maz narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “That I wonder too. Most Dreamers come purposefully and don’t just happen to wander in. You said you followed a cat? Cats are natural Dreamers...but that still doesn’t explain why the guardians let you pass. Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye.”

“So what am I going to do now?” Rey asked. Not that she’d mind exploring a little, there seemed so many strange and wonderful things here, if a city where cats lived as citizens right alongside humans was anything to judge by.

“There is another dreamer. He’s not as old as I am, but very powerful. Find Luke Skywalker, and you might find answers. I will supply you with what you need, but you’ll have to find your own way. He disappeared a long time ago, and no one knows where he went.”

Well, that didn’t sound too bad? And if she actually had a purpose here, this Luke person might be able to help her find it. Rey had always dreamed of far-off places, adventure, and escaping the tedium that was her life . There weren’t many places a kid could go when school was out and home wasn’t an option - libraries had been Rey’s haven for most of her dismal childhood. Even now that things had improved a lot, being a landscaper and taking care of plants wasn’t the most fascinating work

When the meal was finished, Maz led her to a dusty storeroom and told her to just take whatever she wanted, suggesting sturdy clothes, basic tools for survival, and maybe a weapon. Rey kitted herself out in boots, trousers, a warm tunic, and an undershirt before hunting around for a belt she could attach things to. She’d learned the hard way to keep valuables as close to her body as she could at all times.

She didn’t know what, but something drew her to a chest sitting innocently in a dark corner. In it, she found two belts, one with a scabbard attached to it with an ivory hilt peeking out. Everything looked old, worn, and unremarkable, until the sword suddenly jumped out of the scabbard with a swishing noise and leaped directly into her hand. The curved blade seemed to be made of pure light, and when Rey moved, the blade lead her through a complicated set of maneuvers that Rey was sure she had no idea how to actually do.

“I see you found Sikánda,” she heard Maz’ voice from behind her.

Rey tried to let go of the hilt, but no luck. It was as if the blade was stuck to her palm. “I’m sorry, I was just looking for a belt, and…”

“No child, it’s fine,” Maz chuckled, “The saber has chosen you, like it chose Luke before you. This blade will cut through anything, and you won’t lose a battle when fighting with it. But don’t ever draw it if it doesn’t want to be drawn. You can only use it if it leaps into your hand.”

The blade sprang back into its scabbard, looking as unremarkable as before, and Rey belted it to her waist. She could really use a sword that knew how to fight, because she sure as hell didn’t. At least not with actual weapons.

“Come, you’ve had a long day. I have a room ready for you to rest in,” Maz said, leading her off.

Rey’s sleep was deep and dreamless, which made sense, she thought, since she was already in the Lands of Dream.

Maz was waiting for her in the main room, where they had breakfast together. After that, Maz handed her two pouches. “Provisions. Waybread and dried fruit and meat; it should last you a while. And here are a few coins for you to barter with, should you need to,” she said, then unfolded a map, marking a spot with quill and ink. “This is where Luke was seen last, in the city of Celephais. I suggest you make your way over the Karthian Hills to Hlanith and book a passage over the ocean there. Once you are in Celephais, you might find some clues to where Luke Skywalker went.” Maz folded up the map and handed it to Rey. “Take care, child. There are many dangerous things in the Lands of Dream.”

Rey bit her lip and swallowed. It was surprisingly hard to say goodbye to this strange, kind old woman. “Thank you for everything.”

And off she went on her adventure.

***

Rey very quickly learned a couple of things: the days were shorter than one would think, sleeping in trees was safer than sleeping beneath them, people spoke all kinds of weird languages and rarely ever hers, and those pretty red flowers in the grass _bite_.

Millicent had come back on day three of her journey to Hlanith, and Rey felt better for her presence. Rey was skirting a pretty spectacular mountain range; she’d only ever seen the like in books or on TV. A winding path forked off the main road and led towards it - and Millicent seemed insistent on following said path.

Perhaps the cat was on to something? She had led Rey to this world, so perhaps there was a purpose to what she did? Rey decided to go along with it, at least for a while. Her personal quest could wait; it wasn’t as if she was in a hurry, after all.

The path wound itself through craggy rocks, and soon it started to go dark. Perhaps this was what Millicent wanted, to find a safe place to spend the night? But more than anything she had encountered here, this place made her uneasy. “Millie, are you sure about this?”

The cat glanced back but continued onward.

At the end of the path stood a lone dead tree, twisted and gnarled. This was where Millicent wanted to go? Rey couldn’t make out much more than its silhouette in the fading light, but it looked rather menacing; shadows seemed denser around it, somehow.

Rey was just about to ask Millicent again, when an even darker shape detached from the tree. Millicent ran up to it with a happy “mrrrrp” and her tail held high, and the shape bent down to pet her.

“You brought her too me? Good girl,” the shadow praised the cat in a deep velvety voice.

Brought her to him? Rey felt terror crawling up her spine. This was bad; she was sure it was. Maz had warned her, hadn’t she? Her breath came in shallow, short gasps; and when the shadow rose upright and turned towards her, she turned and ran, weaving through the rocks, not caring where she went.

But she could feel him follow, draw closer, and she tried to run faster, lungs burning with the effort, but then she was caught in a dead end with nowhere to go. The shadow reached out with a hand, and Rey was caught in place, unable to move.

How was he doing that? He could have done this the whole time, Rey realised; he had been _playing_ with her. But now there was nothing she could do besides stand there, trembling and terrified.

“So, you’re the girl I’ve heard so much about,” the Shadow drawled, sounding amused. “He was kind to send you.”

He, who was _he_? Who was it the Shadow thought had sent her here?

The Shadow chuckled. “You don’t know? Well, no matter. You’re coming with me.”

Another wave of his hand, and Rey knew no more.

 

***

 

She came to with a gasp and found herself in a dark room, strapped to some sort of contraption keeping her semi upright. A quick glance around found her captor kneeling at her feet. “Where am I?” she asked, finding her voice, but she could hear it tremble.

“You’re my guest,” the Shadow replied, still sounding amused. Still playing with her.

Rey struggled against her bonds more to make a point than to get free. “A guest tied down and unable to leave is a prisoner,” she said bitterly.

The Shadow rose and came closer. His movements were graceful and fluid, Rey noticed, even though she still couldn’t make out any details, wreathed in darkness as he was. “You want to kill me,” he said incredulously but also sounding delighted.

“That happens when you’re chased down by a creature hidden in shadows,” Rey bit out, her whole body tense as he came closer still.

The shadows parted like mist and he let her see. Rey couldn’t suppress a soft sound of terror - this was worse. He was generally human shaped, tall and broad, but his face...it was as if her mind couldn’t get a lock on it. A general idea of striking features, yes, but overlaying and underlying were too many eyes, teeth, and of all things _tentacles_. Just looking at him made her brain want to eat itself.

“Careful what you wish for, hm?” he purred, several eyes blinking in and out of existence, and raised his right arm, but where a hand was supposed to be, there was only a writhing, teeming mass of tentacles.

Rey did not want those on her. No. No way. But wait, she was just dreaming, wasn’t she?

Wake up, Rey, she begged herself, eyes squeezed tightly closed against the ever encroaching horror. Wake up, please.

_Wake up._

***

Rey opened her eyes and stared at the dark wooden beams decorating her living room ceiling, barely visible in the flickering light of the TV. Her heart was still hammering, but knowing she was awake and safe in her own house helped calm her down.

Still trembling a little and starting at every strange shadow, she rose from the tangle of blankets on her couch and made her way to the kitchen. Switching on the light, she shivered a little in the predawn cool and noticed an open window. Hadn’t she closed that last night? Shrugging, she made her way to the coffee maker.

Coffee would help. Coffee always helped.

The cat was nowhere to be seen, so Rey assumed she had made her way out of the window sometime during the night and had returned home, wherever that might be.

What a strange dream, Rey thought to herself, listening to the soothing gurgle of her coffee maker. What had brought that about?

  
  


Hux’s office was at the main plaza near the mall. The receptionist had asked for her name, checked a list, and waved her right through with a bored air, obviously dismissing Rey as unimportant. This rankled a bit, but it was nothing out of the ordinary; people had dismissed and overlooked her all her life.

The door was open, so Rey knocked on the jamb to get Hux’ attention.

“Ah, Rey. Please come in and have a seat, I’ll be finished with this momentarily,” he greeted her, indicating an armchair. “I hope you settled in alright?”

“Yes,” Rey replied sitting down, “I did, thank you.”

There was a “mrrrp” and a familiar ginger cat jumped up on the desk to peer at her.

“Millicent, no. Get off the desk,” Hux told the cat with an indulgent smile, gently nudging her off. Millicent decided that Rey’s lap might make a suitable replacement sitting spot.

“Oh, she’s yours, then,” Rey mumbled absentmindedly, remembering her dream and Millie’s part in it.

“Hm?” Hux inquired, his eyes on the paperwork he was finishing up.

“Millicent came to visit me on my first night here,” Rey explained, scratching the purring cat between her ears.

“Did she now,” Hux replied with a smile. Was it only Rey’s imagination, or was there a slight edge to it? “How peculiar. She doesn’t like most people.”

Did Hux object to his cat liking her? Her thought was interrupted by Hux rising, obviously finished for now, and asking her to come along.

They made their way to the central plaza. “Your duties will be the seasonal decorations and flowerbeds here. Shrubs are to be trimmed twice a year, different flowers three times.” They moved along the Maine Street (someone sure had had a good chuckle at the obvious pun in planning) to reach the park. “Again, shrubs, flowerbeds. Mowing the grass as needed. The rest of the time you’ll spend weeding, I’m afraid.”

“I don’t mind,” Rey replied, and she really didn’t. Anything was better than cleaning junk and fixing it up to look like genuine antiques with Plutt leering at her.

Hux handed her a set of keys in front of the maintenance building. “You’ll find everything you’ll need in there: tools, safety gear, machines. These are for the entrance, your locker, and the workshop. Clacher will be in at ten; you can familiarise yourself with everything in the meantime. I’m afraid I must be off.”

Rey nodded and took the keys. She was glad Hux was busy; she found him unsettling with his perfect, squeaky clean facade. Because that’s what it was, she could feel it in her gut. A facade.

Clacher turned out to be a laid-back, quietly funny guy in his early fifties; he walked with a limp and was a walking encyclopedia when it came to plant related things. Today was weeding and cleaning out dead flowers. Clacher kept a running commentary on what they were doing, why they were doing it, what to look out for, and what kinds of plants they were handling. Rey learned a lot by just listening.

People would stop for a chat with him, but hardly ever acknowledge her. She shrugged it off; she supposed that whatever it was that telegraphed “street rat” to people was still going on strong.  She hadn’t even actually met her neighbours yet. It seemed like the people living in _Dreamlands_ preferred to keep to themselves; something Rey actually appreciated. She didn’t need all of her neighbours neck-deep in her business.

Rey settled into her new life fairly well with nothing out of the ordinary, even in her dreams. In the light of day, everything she’d experienced that night made a certain amount of sense - Millicent being the last thing she saw before falling asleep, Ulthar, the name of her street appearing as a fantastical city, and even the Shadow as a personification of her fear of the unknown. Perfectly normal weird dream stuff.

Until one night she fell asleep on the couch again and found herself back in the dark room, tied to the semi-upright thing.

Oh _hell_.

The Shadow was nowhere to be seen. So far so good. She still had all her gear, the bastard hadn’t even cared to disarm her. The only thing he’d taken was her backpack, and she could see that sitting in a corner nearby. If only she could get out of these shackles before he came back!

It was cold and damp, and the air smelled of rot and despair. Rey just wanted _out_. A deep, gurgling sigh made her freeze up in her attempts to free herself. There was something just outside! Something massively big, judging by the sound it had made and the sheer size of the door.

Rey bit her lip. Maz had said something about Dreamers being able to change things, no? Perhaps she could...make it so the thing wanted to release her? It probably wouldn’t kill her, since it seemed to obey the Shadow and guarded her, so it might be worth the risk?

Rey leaned back and concentrated. “Hey you! Come in here!”

The thing outside did as she had asked, and Rey immediately regretted her decision. It was, as she had thought, humongous, but that wasn’t all. It looked like a child had gotten into the workshop of a sculptor and ruined one of the artist’s works. Limbs were haphazardly stuck to an unformed torso, and there was hardly a face. The whole thing looked raw, unfinished.

And it was shambling closer. “You want to untie me,” Rey tried, but the thing just gave an enraged roar and sped up. Shit! Why didn’t it work? Why?

Because she didn’t believe what she said. She didn’t believe that the monster would set her free. So Rey closed her eyes and tried to. Tried to _believe_ with her whole heart in what she was about to say.

“You want to set me free,” she stated, and this time her voice didn’t waver. She _knew_.

The monster gave a confused rumble and went off to one of the walls to pull a hidden lever. Rey’s shackles sprang open and she dropped to the floor. Quickly running over to snatch up her backpack, she had another idea. “And you never saw me!”

The colossus rumbled in agreement and sat down, leaning against the wall.

Rey couldn’t suppress a giddy smile. It had worked. She was free!

But for how long, she wondered, looking around. She needed to find a way out of here. The thing that had guarded her very likely wasn’t the only inhabitant of this place.

It wasn’t. Making her way through a maze of corridors, Rey had to duck out of the way of many such giants, all of them different, but all of them uniform in their hideousness, until finally, finally she found a crawlspace that led outside.

Rey found herself underground in what looked like an enormous cavern. Looking back, she saw that she had escaped a veritable fortress, a mass of misshapen towers with many windows peering into the darkness like baleful glowing eyes.

Stalactites hung from the ceiling of the cavern like teeth in the mouth of a leviathan, and corresponding stalagmites reached up like the stumps of dead trees. Loathsome, slimy things grew everywhere, shedding sickly light over the dismal landscape.

Rey figured that any direction was good enough, as long as it led away from the fortress. A path leading to the surface would crop up sooner or later.

Rey lost all sense of time as she wandered through the dark. Now and again she ate some of her dried fruit or took a sip from her water pouch - carefully rationing the water, because she dared not drink from the fetid pools littering the ground. She had reached the wall of the cavern some time ago and now trekked along it. There had to be a way up, she thought, there had to be.

Again, she believed.

And there it was, an opening, yawning like a great maw. Rey would have cheered, had there not been one single obstacle that quickly made her hide behind a boulder.

She could see the Shadow waiting between her and the way out.

Rey clenched her teeth, biting down on her fear. She could make it past him. She could. She could!

The shadow turned into her direction, a pleased smile on his face. “I know you’re here, girl. I must say I did not think you would escape that quickly. You are strong, stronger than you know.”

Rey squeezed her eyes shut. His voice made her tremble, but not just in fear. Somehow he also fascinated her in his monstrosity, horrid, but also strangely beautiful as he stood there, proud like a king. “You will let me go,” she demanded. It had worked with the giant, hadn’t it?

“No, I will not. You are too precious to me. You have power in you, and I can teach you to wield it. I can help you find your purpose,” he cajoled.

Damn. Of course it wouldn’t be so easy. “Thanks, I’ll pass. I make my own destiny, and I decide what my purpose is,” she bit out, coming out from her hiding place. No way out but through, it seemed. She would fight for her freedom.

And it seemed like Sikánda agreed with her, because as she strode up to the Shadow with the light of fury in her eyes and fire in her heart, the magical sword leaped into her hand.

The Shadow seemed stunned. “That weapon,” he said, “is rightfully mine.”

“I don’t think Sikánda agrees,” Rey bit out as the sword guided her into a vicious attack which the Shadow barely managed to parry with a glowing red blade of his own.

The Shadow’s reach was greater than her own, and he was surprisingly swift on his feet, his lunges and slashes fast and powerful. Even with Sikánda at her side, she was driven into the defensive.

“You cannot win,” the Shadow stated. Rey was panting in exhaustion, but he seemed barely winded. “I don’t want to harm you.”

Rey laughed humorlessly, ducking under a backhand swing. “Yeah, right. That’s why you kidnapped me and tied me to a rack. That sends all the good vibes.”

The Shadow seemed nonplussed by that and lowered his sword to reply, but Sikánda chose that moment for a succession of lightening quick slashes, and Rey could hear the Shadow howl as he sank to the floor, bleeding from multiple gashes.

Now or never, Rey thought, as Sikánda decided that the fight was over and returned to its scabbard. Dashing into the passage Rey prayed that it would lead her upwards, and that the Shadow was too wounded to follow.

The dead light faded as Rey went further, and she switched on her trusty torch. The passageway seemed like a natural vent that had been widened and made passable by artificial means. Rey could see iron brackets with ancient wooden torches, but they were dark, and Rey didn’t need to light them.

There were long stretches of stairs, and Rey chose to rest on a small landing between two of them, hoping that nothing would creep up on her.

Nothing did; the suffocating silence was absolute.

Finally, after who knew how long, Rey saw faint light coming from above, and she could have cried in happiness. Hurrying up the last segment of the tunnel, she ran out into the light, greeting the warm sun with open arms. She had done it. She had escaped.

Now she just had to find someone (or something) she could ask where the blazes she’d ended up, and how far it was to Celephais.

Rey soon found a road and followed until she came to a city. She could see great domed roofs, and the gates were wide open, but Rey had learned her lesson and drew near carefully. Eventually she could hear music and laughter, and she felt a sense of relief. Celebrating people meant peace, or so she at least hoped.

As she entered through the gates, she saw people dancing to lively music, and the revellers quickly invited her to join, freely offering food and wine. Rey decided that she deserved a bit of relaxation after the harrowing experience she’d had and accepted both. The people she met recognised her as a stranger and gladly told her of their city, Oonai, where every night was a celebration. In turn she was asked where she came from, and if she had songs and stories to share. And boy, did she ever. She recounted tales from her favourite books that she’d read in the library when she was a child, and taught them some of the songs she liked.

The night passed in a whirl of dancing and laughter.

In the morning she woke in a pile of strangers, thankfully still fully dressed. Rey disentangled herself and ambled to a nearby fountain to have a quick wash. She wasn’t disturbed by that at all; when you’d run from a couple of horrid foster homes, waking up with a hangover in a puppy pile of racoon-eyed stoners wasn’t the weirdest thing you experienced.

A bearded, haggard looking old man approached her and pressed a cup of something hot and steaming into her hands. “You’ll need this,” he grumbled, taking a sip from his own cup.

Rey did the same, and was pleasantly surprised by the strong tea. Like a kick in the teeth, it was exactly what she needed. “Thanks.”

Around them, people dragged themselves to whatever it was they did during the day, all of them looking decidedly miserable.

“You’re not staying, aren’t you?” the old man asked.

Rey shook her head. “No, I’m trying to get to Celephais because I’m looking for Luke Skywalker. I mean, it was fun to cut loose for a night, but I don’t think I could take partying this hard on a daily basis.”

“Celephais and Luke Skywalker, eh? Well, I could take you at least part of the way on my ship, if you can pay, that is,” the old man offered.

Rey reached for the pouch on her belt and shook out a few coins. “Will that do?”

“More than,” the old man said and started down the street.

Rey shrugged and followed him down to the harbour. “I’m Rey.”

“Niemand,” the old man replied. “Why do you seek Luke Skywalker?”

Rey shrugged. “I’m trying to find someone to teach me about Dreaming and find out why I ended up here to begin with, and Maz said he’d be my best bet.”

The old man just huffed and didn’t reply.

The ship was on the small side, and Rey could see that once it had been painted in bright, cheerful colours; but now it looked as old and faded as it’s owner. It was laden with dried fruit and wine, the main produce of Oonai - what a surprise. There was only one other sailor, a diminutive creature wrapped head to toe in white and blue cloth Niemand introduced as Artoo.

Weird little creatures swarmed the ship, they looked like something that resulted in mixing puffins, seal, and penguins. “Porgs,” Niemand grumbled, “get into everything. Don’t leave anything shiny lying about.”

The old man and his helper set sail. The coastline they followed changed from the gentle hills of Oonai to a bright desert, and Rey could see enormous pyramids further inland. The land that came next was lush and tropical, white beaches with palm trees interchanged with dark, mysterious mangrove woods. Strange creatures called out at night when Rey slept on deck beneath the stars, next to groups of Porgs huddled into coils of rope.

Artoo didn’t speak any language Rey knew, just made trilling noises, but he seemed friendly enough. Niemand on the other hand was grouchy and withdrawn and didn’t exactly invite conversation.

Rey made herself useful helping to prepare meals, and Artoo taught her to fish, a skill Rey gladly learned; it could always come in handy. The fish they caught looked fantastical with strange shapes and colourful fins, but tasted delicious when fried in the little galley.

On the second day, they passed an island which made Rey run to the railing and stare open mouthed. “What is that?”

There was another city, but this one built in spires so high she could not see their tips. Noises came from the place that Rey found strangely fascinating, like eternal secrets whispered in her ear. Answers, they promised, answers to all the questions that plagued her mind in that strange place between waking and sleep.

“Thrice-cursed Thalarion,” the old man replied bitterly. “It holds every wonder, every mystery humanity has not fathomed. There are no human inhabitants, just strange, mad things. Nobody who goes there ever comes back, at least not utterly changed into some mad being without any humanity left.”

Rey turned to face him. “That sounds horrid. But why do you hate it so much?”

Niemand sighed and wiped his face with an old, weathered hand. “It cost me my nephew. He was born to a native of these lands and a Dreamer from above. And the child inherited much of that Dreamer power, and ever did he long for the world above. But while Dreamers may visit and return, the denizens of the Lands of Dream are bound here.” His shoulders hunched in pain. “My nephew was not content with this. He sought the forbidden knowledge, how to pass into the Lands of Day in thrice-cursed Thalarion.” Niemand turned his head to face Rey, and his eyes were full of old pain. “And he never returned.”

“I’m sorry about your nephew,” Rey mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

The old man just nodded and went back to the steering wheel of the ship.

Their next stop was the biggest city in the West, Dylath-Leen. From afar it looked rather foreboding with its tall, black towers, but once inside, Rey was very much reminded to how Hollywood movies depicted Tortuga in Pirate movies. There were drunken seamen everywhere, ribald joking and singing, and even a proper pub brawl or five. All in all, Rey felt like she was in a place that resulted in Golden Age of Piracy Tortuga and the Giant’s Causeway getting married and having a really weird baby.

There were marketplaces with stands selling all manner of exotic things, and old grizzled sea-bears would tell outrageous stories

Niemand led her to a mostly reputable looking inn and they rented two rooms. Apparently he was waiting for another merchant to arrive so he could trade in some of his wares against things needed elsewhere.

The room wasn’t much, just a bed, a chair and a rickety little table, but it was clean and vermin free, and Rey was looking forward to sleeping on an actual mattress again in a place that didn’t move. The little window looked out onto a bustling street, and Rey watched the people passing by while putting her hair into a braid for the night.

Something, maybe a movement in the corner of her eye, maybe the feeling of being watched made her turn around and freeze.

There, in the chair, as if he had been there all along, sat the Shadow. Rey made a lunge for the door, but he caught her, several tentacles whipped out and wrapped around her torso with terrible strength.

“I don’t want to fight you. Or harm you,” he said.

She tried to free herself, but to no avail. “So what do you want, then?”

“To...talk. As I always have,” he replied.

Rey looked at him askance. “You have a bit of a shitty way of going about this.” Somehow she knew that he could snap her in half, if he wanted, so that he didn’t _did_ lend some truth to his words.

The monstrous creature seemed bashful. “I know. He told me. Sometimes it’s hard to remember how to do things the human way,” he explained, and the limbs around her slackened some.

“Who told you?” Rey asked, curious as to what had brought about this change.

The Shadow didn’t answer her question. “I will release you, but you must promise not to run.”

If that was what would get those tentacles off her, she gladly would; she didn’t actually have to keep a promise made under duress, didn’t she? “Alright, alright. I promise.”

He immediately let go of her.

Rey awkwardly sat on the bed. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Tell me of the waking world,” the Shadow said.

That was it? Rey could hardly believe that this was what the fuss was all about. “Alright,” she agreed, but then a thought occurred to her. Niemand wouldn’t talk, and she wasn’t sure the seamen in the city wouldn’t fill her ears with fancy. “But you’ll tell me of this one in return.”

He agreed, and Rey learned many things that night. The Shadow had a name, and it was Kylo Ren. The gods of the Lands of Dream were the old gods of Earth, and some of them ascended Dreamers like Kuranes, who had created the city of Celephais all by himself. That the strange furry creature she had met was very likely a Zoog, inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest that welcomed every Dreamer. And that she was lucky the Zoog’s desire for shiny things had outweighed his desire for human flesh.

There were places both wondrous and terrible, some seeming foreboding but being benign, and some hid their danger in beauty.  The giants she’d encountered in the Underworld were called Guggs, and they had been banished there for unspeakable blasphemies. And over all watched Nyarlathotep, the Messenger of the Great Old Ones, protecting the Lands of Dream and all within.

Kylo told her many secrets and taught her many things, but Rey still hungered for more. She asked him to meet with her again, and he promised to do so with a smile.

Niemand didn’t comment on Rey’s tendency to go her own way when they came ashore; he didn’t concern himself with her at all, and Kylo turned out to be a much more interesting and fun person to spend time with. When she told him things about her world or herself, he would listen attentively. The only people who had ever treated her like that were Finn and Poe, and even they tended to get wrapped up in each other. Not that Rey resented that, but it was still sad to be so lonely. So lonely indeed, that she would find solace in the attention of a monster.

So understandably it took Rey a couple of nights to put two and two together.

She met Kylo in a sweet-smelling grove near her original first goal, the trading town of Hlanith. He’d taken to teasing her, playfully snatching the ties from her hair or tickling the back of her neck with the tentacles on his right arm, which she didn’t mind any more. Rey shoved him away, equally as playful. “One of these days Sikánda is going to jump at you again and then it’s sushi for all!” The more time she spent with him, the less he minded his more eldritch traits.

Kylo just lifted her up. “You may carry my uncle’s sword, but I carry you!”

That’s when it clicked.

“Luke Skywalker is your uncle,” Rey said, going slack. “Niemand lost his nephew to Thalarion. How much of a coincidence do you think that is?”

Kylo gently put her down. “I thought you knew. I thought that’s why you travel with him.”

The shock of realisation receded, and Rey got angry; balling her fists, she started to pace. “I told him I’m looking for Luke Skywalker the day we met! He must have recognised his sword! And all that time he barely speaks a word to me. He was supposed to help me!”

Kylo drew her into his arms. “Even if he wanted to, he can’t. He no longer Dreams. That’s why he calls himself ‘Niemand’ - which, as I understand, means ‘nobody’ in one of the languages of your world. Because that is what he has let himself become. Nobody.”

“So who will? How am I ever supposed to find out why I’m here?” Rey asked. “Why all of this is happening?”

Kylo gently stroked her hair. “I’ll help you find that purpose, I promise.”

***

 

Rey left Niemand the next day. He didn’t ask for an explanation, and Rey didn’t see the need to supply one. Confronting him would only be humiliating for her, and so they parted ways as they had met. As strangers.

As soon as Rey had left the city of Hlanith behind, Kylo stepped out of the shadows, holding out a hand for Rey to take.

She took it, and when he led her into a portal of darkness, she didn’t look back.

  
  


Travelling with someone who could take you somewhere on a thought was...different. He took her to all the places the great Dreamers had been to or had influenced. First was resplendent Celephais, but he also took her to places like the Plateau of Leng, where they watched the mysterious goat-legged inhabitants from the shadows. Rey saw the Underworld again, and this time not only its horrors, but its wonders: glittering caves full of uncarved gemstones, delicate lime curtains, and strangely shaped grottoes that turned song into transcendence. He showed her old, slumbering horrors and told her their names.

Kylo showed her the palaces of the mighty, and when she grew tired of seeing so many things, took her to his own home close to the basalt Pillars of the West where the world ended, and an enormous waterfall began at the edge of the world and fell in black nothingness.

Here in Kylo’s resplendent, ever changing home they played and rested, and it was here where Rey eventually asked for a kiss.

He gladly gave it, and Rey, feeling his velvety soft lips on her own and burying her hands in his dark hair, tentacles and all, was at peace. He was heartbreakingly gentle as he brushed her clothes away from her skin, and so was she as she drew him out of the shadows surrounding him, closing his many eyes with kisses.

His skin was pale where it wasn’t eyes or tentacles, but it was the pallor of one who had not seen the sun in some time. The extra appendages were a dark purple fading into a lighter lavender where the suckers were situated. “Let me look at you,” she asked, and he obediently spread out for her gaze.

Seven octopus like arms protruded from both sides of Kylo’s spine, three on one side, four on the other. Smaller, more slender ones on his right arm replacing one hand as she had already noticed before, and on the right side of his head, mingling with the dark waves of his hair.

Other than the ever changing eyes and impression of more teeth than his mouth should be able to contain, he still looked human, if one with a slightly asymmetrical face composed of individual parts that should not work together but somehow did very well.

Rey’s mouth and fingers followed where her eyes had travelled, and she pushed him down into a nest of pillows on a lovely balcony shaded by exotic, flowering vines. They were now both bare; Rey wasn’t quite sure how that had happened, but she was glad for it. Hands and other things explored her just as lovingly, suckers closing around her nipples and other tendrils undulating against moist, dark places without ever breaking that unending kiss.

She barely felt the first penetration, so careful was he. Only as more tentacles joined the first one and went deeper, did she feel a slight stretch. The clever things also found every sensitive spot inside her that made her groan into Kylo’s mouth.

“Have to get you ready for me,” he gasped against her lips, “Might hurt you otherwise.”

Rey wasn’t about to protest, this felt so, so good. When she finally looked down, she was taken aback a little. His bits didn’t really look like … normal bits. Both his penis and sac were a strangely opalescent lavender and blue colour, and covered in what looked like tiny purple teeth, but when Rey carefully touched them with her finger they turned out to be just soft, short tendrils. And the size was...well, he might be right about having to get her ready. But she was pretty sure she was ready _now_.

And those little tendril things looked like fun.

Gently pulling off his tentacles she straddled his waist, only for them to gently wrap themselves around her, holding her. She could feel where the suckers clamped onto her skin, but it was strangely pleasant. Like getting a hickey. Or five.

Sinking down on Kylo’s strange cock did take a bit of work and some time, but Rey felt wonderful with him finally inside. Experimentally she squeezed her inner muscles around him, and both groaned at the sensation. The little tendrils at the base of his erection tickled her just right, as Rey undulated her hips, eyes closed and head thrown back. Then she could feel something tickle the sensitive rim of her anus and she opened her eyes to look into Kylo’s face in surprise.

His golden eyes (all seven that currently adorned his face) sparkled with mischief, and his full lips twitched with a suppressed grin. At Rey’s answering laugh, the tentacle carefully pressed inside, already moist and slippery.

Rey collapsed forwards onto Kylo’s chest, panting, overwhelmed by the sensations. He adopted her rhythm and thrust from below into his helplessly trembling lover.

Were there many orgasms, or just one, lasting one, Rey didn’t know as she twitched in Kylo’s arms, keening and moaning, utterly overcome. A strange wind had picked up, and nameless voices answered her cries in a language older than time, but all of that paled in the face of the pleasure Kylo was giving her.

Sensory overload gave an edge of pain, and when Kylo turned them over and started thrusting into her with abandon, kissing her for all he was worth, Rey could do nothing but cling to him, scream into his mouth, and hold on as he gave her the fuck of her life.

Rey lost all sense of time and space; her whole world condensed to the pillows below and the man moving above and inside, until he gave a last couple of twitching thrusts and then a gush of wetness and a groan that seemed to come from the depth of his eldritch soul.

And it was over.

Rey lay in the soft pillows, now somewhat soggy with sweat and their combined fluids, panting, eyes unfocused. It took a moment (an eternity) until she found back into her body.

“Ouch.” Oh how she ached. Giving up movement she merely turned her head to her lover, who had, in a similar state, collapsed beside her. “Ouch. But...wow.”

Kylo took a few tries to reply, he was breathing so hard. “Yeah,” he finally said, giving her a rather goofy, blissed out smile.

***

 

Rey woke in her house, on her couch, sweaty and her nether regions heavy and pulsing. Wow, talk about a wet dream. Grinning happily she rose to start the coffee maker and to take a shower. Now _that_ kind of dream she could stand to have more often.

Her hands travelled over her body as she stood under the hot jets of water with her eyes closed, soothing away the usual aches and pains hard work on the day before gave her in the morning.

When she looked into the mirror after stepping out of the cubicle, she shrieked.

_Scattered all over her back and shoulders were small, purple bruises in a very familiar pattern._

Suddenly lightheaded and shivering, she clutched at the sink to keep herself upright. How was this possible? It had been just a dream! But there were the sucker marks Kylo’s tentacles had left behind on her skin, vivid and unmistakable in the morning light.

Hyperventilating she stumbled out of the bathroom and got dressed without looking into any mirror again, her brain already trying to rationalise the bruises away. Something at work that she’d been too busy to notice? Maybe she glanced off a wrought iron fence, they had all kinds of strange decorations? And maybe her dreaming mind had just added the discomfort of the bruises forming overnight to her dream? These things happened, right?

The bruises faded within a few days, but after about a week she started feeling queasy and tired all the time. Some smells almost made her vomit, a problem she’d never had before. Otherwise she would’ve had puked her guts out for years when dumpster diving for Plutt.

Maybe she’d just come down with a nasty case of the flu? Scheduling a visit at the doctor’s office shouldn’t be a problem; her health plan was excellent - Hux had been very generous.

She tried to make it through the week at work, but Clacher sent her home on Thursday. Rey hadn’t made an appointment; she’d just kept pushing it off, and now she was sick and tired, and the doctor probably wouldn’t see her without one.

That’s how Hux found her, bustled her into his sleek, silver Mercedes and drove her to the clinic himself. Rey was mortified and slightly creeped out, but not in any shape to argue.

The doctor, a kindly middle-aged woman with slightly protruding eyes named Mary Ibbott, called her into her office after only a minimal wait. She listened to what Rey had to say, felt her neck and her belly, and then had a nurse draw a blood-sample. Telling Rey to to go home and rest, Dr. Ibbott then asked her to call on Monday for the results.

Hux drove her home and reassured her that taking a couple of sick-days was no problem at all. Employers weren’t usually this nice, weren’t they? Especially not to lowly grunts like her.

Monday came, and with Monday the call. The receptionist took it, and immediately connected her to Dr. Ibbott. “Hello? It’s Rey Kenobi. I’m calling about the test results?”

“Ah yes, Miss Kenobi,” Dr. Ibbott replied, sounding rather happy. Well, that probably meant she wasn’t dying. “Congratulations!”

Rey was a bit confused. “What? Why?”

“You’re pregnant, dear. Isn’t that good news?” the Doctor replied, her tone changing to concerned. “If it isn’t, there are options. You’re only about two weeks along. Would you like to come in for a consultation?”

Rey slid down the wall and dropped to the floor. Pregnant. How? She hadn’t…

Oh, but she had.

And the tentacle marks had carried over, so perhaps the rest had too? What was going on?

“Miss Kenobi?” the Doctor asked, still sounding concerned.

Rey swallowed heavily and tried to breathe past the sudden tightness in her throat. “Yes. Yes, that would be good. When?”

“I have an open slot tomorrow morning at ten. Would that suit you?” Dr. Ibbott replied.

Rey nodded. “Yes, that works. Thank you, Doctor.”

They said their goodbyes, and Rey hung up.

Pregnant.

She had fucked an eldritch abomination in a dream, and now she was pregnant with his eldritch abomination baby.

Rey broke down and cried.

***

 

When she stepped into Dr. Ibbott’s office the next morning, the world seemed to give a lurch, and suddenly it wasn’t the Doctor sitting behind the desk.

It was Hux.

Rey held onto the doorjamb and looked around in panic. The world had gone utterly silent, no bustle in the corridor of the clinic, no traffic noise outside. Nothing.

“Please, have a seat,” Hux said mildly.

Rey did so, her whole body trembling with an oppressive feeling of wrongness.

Hux folded his hands and leaned forwards. “I understand you came to request an abortion.”

Rey didn’t reply, but apparently Hux didn’t need her to, because he continued, “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. It would defeat your entire purpose here.”

“My...my purpose?” Rey whispered.

“Yes of course. Do you think I plucked you out of that miserable wretch Plutt’s shop for nothing? You come from a long line of Dreamers. I knew you had the power to do what I need you to do. And that is to carry this child,” Hux explained coldly. Then his entire demeanor changed, became friendly and understanding. ““Isn’t that what you always wanted? A family of your own? I heard your soul cry out for it, and I have granted your wish. You should be grateful.”

“Grateful? You send me to this place, you throw me into his path, now you’re trying to force me into carrying a child I don’t want, and you expect me to be grateful?” Rey shrieked, then crammed her fist into her mouth to keep the sobs in.

Hux rose from his seat to stand in front of her. Bending down, he hissed into her ear, “I don’t need your sanity intact. Kylo would be somewhat put out if I turned you into a drooling, living corpse, and I would not be too pleased either, because believe it or not, I actually like you. But I will do what I must.”

Rey was openly sobbing now, and Hux righted himself and took her hand. “Come now, it’s not as bad as all that, you’ll be well taken care of. Let’s get you home.”

And like Kylo, he just stepped into the shadow with her, and left her on her couch in her own home, the world back to normal.

Rey curled into a ball and just couldn’t stop crying until she fell asleep in exhaustion.

***

 

She found herself in Kylo’s home in the Land of Dream. One look at her face and the happy smile dropped from his. “Rey! What happened?”

Rey slapped away the hands and tentacles poised to embrace her. “Don’t touch me! Don’t ever touch me again!” she shrieked, her whole body hurting from crying so much, but unable to stop.

Kylo let his limbs drop. “Rey…”

“You bastard!” Rey shouted at him,”You planned all of this from the beginning, didn’t you? You and Hux. And now...now I’m p...p...pregnant…” Rey sank to her knees keening.

Kylo followed her down, close, but not touching. “But why are you so unhappy?”

“You didn’t ask! You just went ahead and did it. You never asked if I wanted this! And now he’s forcing me to keep it. He said he’d destroy my mind, if I didn’t do as he says.” Rey sobbed, unable to even look at him.

“I only ever wanted to see the Lands of Day. Hux sent you to me, to carry my child, yes. With the child, which is part of me, in your world, I can find my way. We...we could be together there, the three of us, I thought,” Kylo explained, sounding close to tears himself. “But if that would make you so unhappy, I don’t want it. I can take it out of you, and I’ll ask...him to leave you alone. Just please...don’t cry any more.”

Rey finally looked up, and she saw the tears streaming down his face. He looked incredibly young in that moment. “You’d do that? You’d give up that dream? For me?”

Kylo nodded. “Yes. I’ll be content to never see your world, if that means you’re not unhappy. I made a mistake, and I’m sorry. I saw how lonely you were. I thought that if you had our child and me to love you in both worlds, that you would never have to be lonely again.”

That made Rey cry all over again, if for an entirely different reason. He was willing to give up what he had always wanted most, all for her. He was giving her a _choice_.

And she would make it, on her own, and in her own time.

She smiled through her tears and opened her arms. Kylo took the hint and pulled her into a many limbed hug.

 

 

Epilogue 

 

Rey sat on her couch with a cup of chamomile tea. Her beloved coffee would have to wait for her until the baby was born and weaned, but she’d return to her true love eventually. Her other true love was waiting for her in the Lands of Dream, and she visited him often.

Hux and Rey had come to an uneasy truce. The Crawling Chaos (for indeed that was who he was, the de-facto ruler of the Lands of Dream, Nyarlathotep in the guise of a mortal, trying to spread his influence in her world) made himself scarce and didn’t interfere with her life unless asked; she was still curious how Kylo had managed to accomplish that. He still sent gift baskets with things she and the baby would need, like a very awkward uncle.

The people of _Dreamlands_ had finally started to warm up to her, seeing as she was now truly one of them. Finn and Poe still visited and were happy (if a bit confused) about the sudden existence of a long-distance boyfriend and a baby on the way, but they saw that Rey was happy, so they didn’t question the whole thing. At least not too much.

Rey stroked a hand over the now noticeable baby bulge.

“Soon daddy is coming to join us, my peanut,” she whispered. “Soon.”


End file.
